Is it a giant squid or a regular sized whale? That’s the question causing considerable confusion for investigators examining an enormous 22-meter (71ft) carcass which washed up on the shores of Huamual in Indonesia.

The rotten carcass has attracted a crowd eager to debate what the mysterious carcass is – with squid and whale emerging as the front runners.

One brave man got close enough to the remains to film. Patasiwa Kumbang Amalatu posted to Facebook that he believes the remains are those of a massive whale.

Others posting images of the carcass online believe it to be a squid but, given how badly decomposed the animal is, it’s difficult to identify.

“We will take the meat samples to be tested in the laboratory. This is to ascertain what type of animal it is,” M Nasrul Latulanit from the Office of Marine and Coastal Resources Management told Kompas.

The investigator believes the creature to be a whale, saying it was far too big to be a squid, which usually grow to around five meters, much shorter than the carcass.